Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Fiery Heart, Sydney risked everything to follow her gut, walking a dangerous line to keep her feelings hidden from the Alchemists.

Now in the aftermath of an event that ripped their world apart, Sydney and Adrian struggle to pick up the pieces and find their way back to each other. But first, they have to survive.

For Sydney, trapped and surrounded by adversaries, life becomes a daily struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian clings to hope in the face of those who tell him Sydney is a lost cause, but the battle proves daunting as old demons and new temptations begin to seize hold of him. . . .

Their worst fears now a chilling reality, Sydney and Adrian face their darkest hour in this heart-pounding fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where all bets are off.

Fair Warning: If you haven’t read the Bloodlines series, this review does contain mild (or major, depending on how you feel about it) spoilers. Don’t read on if you don’t want to be spoiled. You have been warned!

As the penultimate book in the Bloodlines series, Silver Shadows had a big job – It had to entertain and stand on its own, but it also had to set up for the final, epic book. And it definitely did NOT disappoint! The books in this series have gradually shifted to darker, heavier plots. But Silver Shadows took a brutal, tragic turn. It put our beloved characters in terrifying, hopeless situations. Though the first half was a bit slow, the second half blew my mind! Silver Shadows had an epic plot, character’s we’ve come to love and the amazing writing that we’ve come to expect from Richelle Mead.

Poor Syndey. Our strong, fierce, Sydney went through hell in Silver Shadows – mentally, physically and emotionally. Most of my status updates while I was reading said just that, “Poor Sydney!” The things that Sydney went through would have cracked a normal person, but our girl stood strong in the face of psychological and bodily torture. She used thoughts of her friends, Adrian especially, to keep herself sane. Some of Sydney’s punishments were really hard to read. And with how long she endured them.. I don’t know how she kept her mind. And I know our girl is strong, but.. I’m definitely expecting some psychological consequences from everything she went through. We saw some at the end of Silver Shadows, but I’m guessing we’ll see more in The Ruby Circle.

As bad as Sydney’s situation was, I almost felt worse for Adrian. Adrian is strong, but Sydney makes him stronger, makes him a better person. Between the reason for her disappearance and the lack of her good influence, Adrian slipped back into old habits. And in a major, epically huge way. Between alcohol and spirit, Adrian let his old vices break him down and take him over. He spiraled so far down, I didn’t think he’d ever come out of it. I definitely breathed a sigh of relief once he and Sydney were reunited.

Despite Sydney and Adrian being apart for over half the book, my Sydrian feels were all over the place. Like.. Richelle Mead messed with our minds and our hearts in this one, more so than any other book in the series. She put our poor Sydrian through an epic, insane, crazy, emotional roller coaster!!! Basically, I got to a point where all my status updates were along the lines of, “Noooo!!!! Haven’t they suffered enough already?!?” and “!!!!!!” So, yeah… But then near the end of the book… OMG THE CRAZY SYDRIAN FEELS!!!!!

I really missed the Palm Springs crew in Silver Shadows. We didn’t see them for the majority of the book. They made small appearences, but I’ve come to love them so much, I really missed seeing the gang all together.

One of my favorite new characters was Duncan. I really liked him a lot, right from the beginning, though I was slow to trust him. I cringed every time Sydney confided too much in him, especially when it came to her thoughts and feelings on Adrian. I was always waiting for Duncan to turn on her. I’m hoping we see a bit more of him in The Ruby Circle, but based on how Silver Shadows ended and the description of The Ruby Circle, I doubt it. I was also very leery of Sydney’s roommate, Emma. Some of the things Sydney said and did in front of her just seemed reckless. And just in general, I couldn’t stand any of the Alchemists, be they the ones in Re-education or the ones in charge of Re-education. But I especially couldn’t stand Sheridan and Harrison. I really, really wanted to punch the crap out of both of them.

This whole book was intense, but the end was ridiculous!!! I seriously wanted to pick up The Ruby Circle right away but, alas, I have to be responsible and read some review books first! *Sobs!!* But the first chance I get, I’m absolutely reading it! Because that ending… *Cue epic fangirling.*

Overall, obviously, I loved Silver Shadows. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Richelle Mead book I don’t like and I don’t think I ever will. She’s an amazing writer and I love this world and these characters so much! I definitely, highly recommend this book and this series and everything Richelle Mead has ever written.. Or will write in the future.. Okay? Okay. *Hugs Adrian*